


Home Is Wherever I'm With You

by tstrash



Series: Our Life Is Like A Song [1]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 12:43:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14213409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tstrash/pseuds/tstrash
Summary: "There was this quote that said something along the lines of how you know you really love someone is if you spend twenty minutes saying goodnight to each other because you keep bringing stuff up to talk about" he hints.





	Home Is Wherever I'm With You

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on my bullshit. Enjoy the fluff.

The initial shift into real life was strange. Touring season came and went, the start of a new competition season was months past, and both Tessa and Scott are fully submerged into new projects. She’s in school and accepting offers for brand endorsements left and right while he’s at the rink assisting with junior teams and watching past competitors claim titles. It’s strange, but it was time to move on.

The move to Montreal was predictable and easy after Scott accepted his offer at Gadbois and Tessa payed the entry fee for McGill. It never felt like she was ever home much because work would consistently take her away to cities across the country for business seminars or photoshoots, small cafes she had yet to discover and finding that they were a good place to study, or attending a class in the evening because that was the fast track option for a master’s program. He would spend most of the day at the rink, up before the sun and pulling into the driveway of their home as the colors mixed from blue and pink and orange as it went down. Heating up dinner from the night before or ordering take out as he reviewed footage, picking apart every minor detail, tweaking music, or dreaming up flashy new step sequences. It was all par for the course and a day in the life of Tessa and Scott never having a dull moment. 

They would be lucky if they had a few hours together most week days. This is the life they wanted. Consistently having something to do had taken over their life and the feeling of sitting and doing nothing all day was strange. 

Nationals was next week and Scott was getting ready to head out with his juniors while Tessa was away in Vancouver for a few days at a conference. He missed her whenever she was gone, and he made sure she knew it before she left. 

Saying goodbye in the morning before they went their separate ways in the city was simple. He would wake up at five, quietly slip out of bed so he didn’t wake her, get himself ready for the day, and then sneak back into the dark of their room to place soft kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips before he whispers a “see you later” and then he’s off. She smiles through her sleep as he closes the door to their bedroom and she’ll follow up with a good morning text a couple hours later when she adjusts her eyes to the light. 

But when she leaves for a few days, or goes anywhere on a plane, he makes a point to make sure she knows just how much he’s going to miss her. She’ll be rolling her suitcase to the front door and as she’s about to put her jacket on, he pulls at her shirt before his hands snake onto her waist, pulling her flush to him from behind. 

“Do you really have to go to Vancouver?” he muffles into the crook of her neck.  
“It’s only 4 days this time” she sighs as her hands find their place over top of his, pushing down so he reciprocates by holding her tighter.  
“When are you gonna stop getting on planes and spend more than just the weekends with me?” he pouts and she turns around in his arms as she snakes her hands up his arms to his shoulders, letting her hands thread through the hair at the back of his neck.  
“Soon, I hope. I’m fast tracking this program so we can have more time together, you know that” she speaks softly with a little bit of disappointment to follow.  
Scott sighs and he understands. “I know, I just miss you so much when you’re gone.”  
“I miss you already” she whispers, light breaths hitting his lips before she closes the distance between them. “Four days, then we have the whole weekend together.”

They kiss for what feels like no time but it’s actually five minutes and it amazes them every day that they still have that effect on one another. She finally pulls away, breathless, before dropping her head to his shoulder and muffling something along the lines of how she’s going to miss her flight if they don’t leave soon. He reluctantly carries her suitcase to the car and as soon as he backs out of the driveway, her hand reaches over to his and they are intertwined in her lap, fingers tracing over his knuckles ever so softly. When they get to the airport, he gets out and retrieves her bag from the trunk, leaving her with a couple soft pecks, pleading with her to call when she lands. Her hand finds his cheek and he leans into it, kissing her palm as she promises she will call, and rolls her bag into the airport, waving back at him when she gets in the door. 

They’ve learned it’s easier to leave when they make it quick, allowing no time to change their minds, but the feeling of her cool hand on his face and his warm lips on hers is enough to keep them going for the four days their apart. 

Scott keeps himself busy, nationals is next week. For juniors, it’s the competition that seems to have the most pressure attached to it and he enjoys finding new ways to push the programs so they have their best competition yet. Tessa spends the majority of the days in meetings and conferences, sharing business tactics and ideas with other entrepreneurs and business students in attendance. It’s exhilarating and tiring and she couldn’t be happier with what she’s doing, but she can’t help but think that her favorite part of the day is getting back to her hotel room at the end of the day and calling Scott. 

The sound of his voice through the phone line is what she craves at the end of a busy day and he can’t help but smile his dorky grin when he hears her giggle. They talk about anything and everything for hours and he settles in for bed. Because the time difference of three hours makes it hard to stay awake for long, he uses the soft notes of her voice speaking _“I love you’s”_ and _”I miss you’s”_ to lull himself to sleep. She whispers goodnight into the phone when she knows he’s out and reluctantly hangs up, only thinking about how she’ll be able to curl up into bed next to him so soon. 

It is announced the next day that her conference is being let out a day early and she can’t help but squeal with excitement, knowing that she gets another whole day with Scott before he jets off to nationals on Monday. Surprises like this are the best kind of surprises, she figures, so when she logs onto her computer that afternoon to switch her flight to one that departs to Montreal in only a couple of hours, she has to consciously stop herself from calling Scott and telling him the news. When she’s in the Uber to the airport, Scott calls her for his daily update.

“I can’t wait for you to be home. What time do you land tomorrow?”  
Tessa pauses before answering. “I think it’s 4, I’ll double check when I’m back in my room” she concurs and can’t help but hate the feeling of lying to him, but it’ll all be worth it when she walks in the door right into his arms later that night.  
“Oh? Where are you off to tonight?” He inquires.  
“Uh- just out for a drink with some business people. Super bougie stuff, you know?” she says before letting out a small chuckle.  
He laughs on the other end and says he won’t bother her then. She promises to call before she goes to bed and he says I love you at least five times before he finally hangs up, and her heart is so full, it threatens to burst. 

Tessa makes a b-line to her gate and immediately enters the line for boarding. She settles into her seat, sending a text to Scott before take off. 

_“I wish you were here. You would laugh at how ridiculous business people are when they drink.”_

She has to turn off her phone before he can respond, but it leaves her something to look forward to. The flight seems gruelling and long, but it’s a blessing that when she plugs her headphones in, she drifts off to sleep. The sound of the pilot’s message announcing their descent into Montreal wrestles her from her slumber, and suddenly she’s shaking with excitement. Coming home is so much more exciting when she knows Scott is waiting for her, but also the anxiety that comes when he doesn’t expect her for another day. 

It’s 11:15pm in Montreal and Scott’s concern is growing because Tessa hasn’t called him yet. He’s sitting in bed, flipping through the channels on the TV until he settles on TSN hockey highlights. He responded to her texts about classy business people hours ago and she never responded, but he resorted it to the fact that she was out. So he calls her, and she picks up immediately. 

“Hi, I’m so sorry I didn’t call earlier, I just got back” she tells him sympathetically. Little does he know that she means she just got back to Montreal.  
“It’s okay, babe. Did you have a good time?” he responds lightly.  
“The best time” she says and her grin widens when her ride turns the corner onto their street. “Sorry, can I call you back in like five minutes, I’m just getting a call from one of my business partners?”  
“I thought I was your business partner?” Scott jokingly scoffs and she laughs.  
“Five minutes, I love you.” And with that, Tessa hangs up. 

The driver pulls up to the front of their house and she hauls her suitcase out of the trunk, doing her best to carry it to the door. Quietly as possible, she turns her key in the lock and closes the door quickly. When Scott hears a noise coming from downstairs, he reluctantly pulls himself up from their bed and shuffles over to the top of the stairs. He flicks the hallway light on and is dumbfounded when he sees Tessa standing at the bottom of the stairs hanging up her coat in the hall closet. 

“Tess?” he wipes his eyes, trying to pull them into focus.  
“Hi baby” she speaks softly and he makes his way down the stairs as quickly and carefully as possible before he scoops her up into his arms, vaguely reminding him of the embrace he had her in after their last competitive free dance.  
“I thought you- wait what- what are you doing here?” he spits out after pulling back.  
“We were done early, I came home” and she pulled at the neckline of his shirt, prompting him to greet her with a kiss.  
“Had I known you were coming back I would have taken the day off tomorrow” he says as he puts her down, allowing her to take off her shoes and coat.  
“It’s okay, nationals are next week, your team needs you” she reasons with him.  
“I know, but I need you. I need time with you.” He tells her and can’t help but bring her into another kiss. “I’m so happy right now” he whispers in her ear as he leaves kisses there and in her hair.  
“I missed you so much” she says before she takes his hand and pulls him over to the kitchen so she can get a glass of water. 

They catch up fully on the last few days as Tessa is standing in front of the sink, drinking her water, as Scott sits on a bar stool on the other side of the island, his head propped up in his hand, and he looks at her as if she hung the moon and all the stars right in their kitchen. When he lets a yawn escape his mouth, Tessa moves her way around to stand in front of him as he is still seated.  
“Let’s go to bed” she tells him, gently stroking his cheek, moving her hand down his arm to fit her hand into his.  
“I’m not tired, I’ll be-“  
“Scott. We have the entire weekend together. Let’s go to bed” she reassures him. 

It doesn’t take much convincing when she laces their fingers together and pulls him up the stairs behind her and into their bedroom. He crawls back into his side of the bed as Tessa discards her jeans and blouse, replacing them with one of his shirts, and she moves in next to him, immediately tangling her legs with his, getting as close as possible before his hand rests on her waist. They lie together in comfortable silence before Scott speaks up. 

“I’ve been thinking” he starts.  
“Uh oh” Tessa retorts.  
“We should get a dog” he states confidently.  
“A dog” she confirms.  
“Yes, a dog.”  
“Scott, we’re barely here enough to take care of ourselves, never mind a dog” she rationalizes.  
“I know, but a dog could keep us company while the other is away” he rebuts.  
“I’ll think about it” she finishes and he sighs.  
“I’ll convince you, I know it.”  
“Mhmm. Night Scott.”  
“Night.” 

Silence takes over again and she thinks that maybe he has succumbed to sleep, but he pulls in a deep breath and she knows he’s still awake.  
“I was reading some stuff on this website today” he starts again.  
“That’s very specific” she jokes at him.  
“There was this quote that said something along the lines of how you know you really love someone is if you spend twenty minutes saying goodnight to each other because you keep bringing stuff up to talk about” he hints.  
“Oh really? That’s interesting because it seems like you’re doing that right now” she tells him.  
“Am I?” he asks.  
“Go to sleep Scott” she pokes his chest and he winces softly.  
“Maybe I’m just trying to tell you I love you” Scott tells her, jokingly becoming defensive.  
“I love you too.” 

They both let sleep take over and as Scott rolls over a couple hours later, he can’t help but notice that Tessa’s side of the bed is uncharacteristically cold. When he rubs his eyes open and she is nowhere to be found. He sits up, throws his legs over the side of the bed and treks out into the hall, moving towards the light coming from the bottom of the stairs. He sees Tessa in the kitchen, moving around swiftly with a bowl under one arm, setting the oven with another.

“What are you doing, T?” his voice raspy with sleep.  
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I couldn’t sleep” she says sheepishly.  
“So you’re… what? Making cookies at 2am?” he inquires.  
“Precisely” she tells him with a grin. “You should go back to sleep, you have to be up in a couple hours” she tells him again from across the kitchen.  
“Mmmm I could, but I think I’d rather make cookies with you” he says, a smile creeping across both of their faces.  
“What about coaching?” she asks him, all of a sudden concerned for his team.  
“I’ll call and cancel the morning session, we can extend the afternoon” he tells her as if he’s already made up his mind.  
“Scott..” she starts as she crosses over to meet him.  
“You know” he tells her as his arms find their place around her waist and she tucks her just under his armpits. “I think reading that article earlier made me realize something.”  
“What did it make you realize?” she asks, more intrigued.  
“That maybe I just love you so much that we shouldn’t have to say goodnight when were together. We can just bake cookies at two am and dance around the kitchen and just be in love. Sleep can wait” he spews.  
“Waxing poetic. No wonder the internet thinks you’re a walking rom com” she tells him as she blushes and reaches up onto her tip toes to give him a kiss before pulling out of his embrace, moving back to the long- abandoned bowl of cookie dough.  
“They call me a what?” he asks and she giggles, continuing to mix the dough.  
“Are you going to help me or what?” she asks him.

When he goes over to pull out a baking sheet from the cupboard, he can’t help but think about how he would never want anything to change, until the thought comes back again. 

“You know, if we had a dog, it could clean up all the food that spills on the floor…” 

And the laugh that escapes her is the sound he wants to hear for the rest of his life. In this moment, in their kitchen, he can’t picture his life any other way. 

And when she looks at him, setting down the cookie sheet on the counter, she scoops balls of dough, evenly placing them on the tray and a smile is spread on her face because she knows that these are the moments that makes all the hard work worth it. Being with him after a long week, makes everything worth it.


End file.
